Lost and Found
by xXSakuraPhantom
Summary: A MarbleHornets Fanfiction, semi-AU, set after entry 63-ish. Jay and Tim have decided to team up and do whatever is necessary to uncover the truth about their predicament. Only there is danger around every turn, and they may not make it out alive. (Some Jam fluffiness, but no smut. Rated M for language and violence, just to be safe)
1. Chapter 1

**So, hi, everybody! This is my second fanfic, and I'm sort of nervous. I'm huge, huge, huge into Marble Hornets, and I have been following whatever fanfic I can find. Sadly, there isn't a lot. D; So this is my attempt at it. Hopefully it's good. :3 If you have any input, give me a shout. I take any feedback. It helps me know what I'm doing right or wrong, so I can better satisfy my audience.**

**This fanfic takes place probably around entry 63. Jay and Tim have decided to team up, but they just haven't went to the tunnel, so the whole incident in entry 65 with the footage from Tim's chest camera hasn't happened. Yet. :P **

**Pairing: Jam (Jay/Tim) (Possibly Jay/Masky?) But only fluff. :3**

**Obviously I don't own Marble Hornets. I'm just another fan girl. ;w; **

**Warning: Some angst. Language, violence (some of it's graphic) and intense situations. There's a lot of fluff, but no smut.**

**Enjoy! And thanks for reading!**

ÄÄÄ

Chapter 1

Jay sighed and rubbed his eyes with his palms. It was getting late, almost one am, but he couldn't sleep. He wasn't tired at all. In his head, the events of the day buzzed like angry hornets. Jay could hardly sort them out himself.

In fact, he could only just vaguely remember meeting with Tim for something earlier that afternoon. Something important, but he couldn't really remember it. In fact, Jay wasn't sure he wanted to remember.

All he could recall at the moment was the fact that he was holed up in yet another hotel room, he had several new bruises on his left arm (he didn't remember those, either) and he and Tim were supposed to meet up the next day, probably to go and check out the hospital again.

Tim seemed to want to go back again, but Jay couldn't imagine why. He had had enough of that damn hospital. Although, to be honest, he had had enough of this whole damn situation. Jay just wanted to go somewhere far away. Somewhere far away and safe where he could forget about Alex and the Operator and everything else.

Maybe if Jay left, Tim would be more inclined to disappear himself. Maybe they could both be happy. Maybe it didn't have to be this way.

After all, why were they even trying to do this? What were they even trying to do? Jay had told himself it was because he wanted to help Amy and Jessica and anyone else unfortunate enough to get tangled in this mess, but now he wasn't so sure. Alex was a lost cause, that was for sure. Maybe Jay was just trying to feel like he was doing something. Fighting back. Resisting, or something like that.

He snorted and shook his head. No, that was stupid. He had no idea what the hell he was doing anymore. Tim, he suspected, had his own motives for all this digging and investigating, but Jay wouldn't pry. For the time being, he was just happy to have an ally. Someone who was just as interested about digging up the truth as Jay was. Truth. Ha. Whatever the hell that meant.

He stole a glance at the alarm clock. He had long since turned off all the lights in his room, so the red letters were the only light in the room besides that of the flickering TV. Quarter after one. Jay moaned and closed his eyes. It was so late.

He picked up the remote and pressed the power button. There was a soft click, and his hotel room fell into darkness and silence. Jay stole a glance at his camera, which was set up on its tripod, lens directed at him.

Jay stripped down to his boxers and slipped under the comforters. He rolled onto his side, facing the clock, and waited for sleep to find him.

ÄÄÄ

Jay had been in the middle of a dream about being chased through the woods by a faceless man when he woke to the sound of his cell phone vibrating on his bedside table. He blinked several times, his vision blurry. The alarm clock read 4:27. He grumbled something and picked up his phone, answering it.

"Ello?" he mumbled.

"Jay? It's Tim. Sorry to call you this early, but I had to talk to you."

Jay rubbed his face groggily, fighting to stay away.

"S'okay," he muttered. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Tim's voice was a low growl, and even harsher due to exhaustion. "But I don't know for how long, that's why I called you."

At that, Jay was fully awake. He sat bolt upright, mind focused, muscles tense. "Tim, what do you mean? Do you need help?"

"Jay, relax, all right? I'm fine right now. But I'm not safe at my place right now, I can tell. I swear to god I saw somebody in a hoody outside my window."

Jay's heart skipped a beat. "Oh, no…"

"Yeah. Listen, I hate to ask you this, but do you think I could stay with you for the night? I mean, I wouldn't ask, but I'm kind of freaked out right now."

"I would be, too. And yeah, it's fine. I'll text you the directions."

"All right. Thanks. I'll be there soon, I guess."

Jay nodded, despite knowing Tim couldn't see him. "Be careful, all right?"

"Yeah, I will."

There was a click, and Tim hung up. Jay quickly texted him directions to his hotel and his room number and anxiously awaited the arrival of his friend.

Friend. Ha. Jay shook his head at that. It had been a long time since he had considered anyone a friend. Especially Tim, considering the…well, the snares they had hit in their "relationship" if you could call it that.

Most of the snags revolved around Tim's "other side." A masked man Jay had childishly dubbed Masky. Even though Jay had long since learned that the masked man was Tim, and that he had never intended to hurt him at all, and was some weird-ass kind of guide, Jay still didn't like to think about it at all. The whole split-personality thing was a mystery to him, not to mention it was creepy beyond belief.

His tormented musings were interrupted by a soft knock at the door. Jay quickly pulled on his clothes again, checked the peephole and saw Tim standing in the hallway beyond, hands stuffed in the pockets of his jacket. He had gotten much thinner, Jay thought bitterly, and there were bags under his eyes that certainly hadn't been there before the two of them had teamed up.

Jay opened the door, and Tim stepped in, accompanied by the smell of cologne and cigarette smoke. Jay found himself dwelling on the scent longer than he probably should have.

"Hey," he said once Tim was inside the room.

"Hey. Thanks again for letting me come. I just couldn't feel comfortable back there." Tim fixed Jay with eyes that were both grateful and exhausted.

"No problem. You'd do the same for me, if I needed it."

Tim shrugged. Jay gestured to the couch beside them.

"You probably wanna crash, right? You look like you could use some sleep."

The man snorted. "I could say the same about you. But yeah, you're right, I guess. I'm exhausted. Is it a pull-out?"

"Yeah."

The two of them pulled out the couch and Jay grabbed the pillows and blankets out of the closet. Tim gave him another grateful look before the two of them settled in for the night.

**So there it is! I hope you guys liked it. It'll get better, I promise. I just have some plot stuff to get out of the way, obviously. So stayed tuned, please. Pretty please? *cutesy face* ;w;**


	2. Chapter 2

ChAptER TWo

When Jay woke up, he could hear birds chirping and cars driving beyond the window. He looked over at the clock. It was a little after nine. He made a noise and rubbed his face. Usually he would have been up already, but it felt good to sleep in like this.

Jay climbed out of bed and saw that Tim was still asleep, wrapped up in the sheets. His face was blank and peaceful. Jay couldn't help but smile. This was the most at ease he had seen Tim in for a long time. The man was cocooned in blankets, his chest rising and falling slowly with each deep breath.

Jay shook his head. This was weird and wrong, staring at his friend sleeping. He rubbed his forehead, contemplating waking Tim up for breakfast. It only ran until nine-thirty, so if they wanted to eat, they would have to get down there before they missed it.

After a few seconds, Jay decided he would just go down to the dining area and get a couple plates of food and bring it back up to his room. That way they would both have something to eat, and Tim would be able to sleep some more. He was sleeping so soundly, and he definitely needed it. Jay would hate to disturb him.

So he slipped on a pair of shoes and made his way downstairs. He didn't take the elevator. For some reason, Jay was afraid of what would happen if the doors opened to reveal something…unpleasant beyond them. Besides, taking the stairs would give him exercise. Not that he needed it. He was losing weight so fast due to stress and running around all the time that he was sure he was more like a skeleton than anything.

Eventually he followed the smell of pancakes, syrup, and coffee to the dining area. It was an off-season for people to be staying in a hotel, so the continental breakfast was well-stocked. It looked like hardly anything had been touched.

Jay piled two plates full of Danishes, sausage, eggs, some fruit, yogurt, and anything else he could find. Balancing the heaping plates carefully, Jay decided it was probably a better idea to risk the elevator than the stairs. Pressing the up button with his knee, Jay went back to the room, set one plate down so he could fish out his key and open the door, and then went in.

He was greeted by a scene of utter chaos. Pillows and blankets were strewn everywhere. A trail of towels ran from the bathroom to the pull-out couch, the mini fridge was open, the TV guide stuffed inside, and Jay's belongings, including the tapes, were spread all over the bed. It was as if someone had ransacked the place in a desperate attempt to find something.

Jay quickly set the plates down on the table to avoid adding to the mess. Tim. Where was Tim?! Shit, he had only been gone for five or six minutes. Where was he?

"Tim? Tim!" Jay cried out, looking around the mess of the room. "Tim!"

Oh god, what if it was the man in the mask? What if he had come out while Jay was gone? Oh god, he was screwed, he was so screwed.

"TIM!" Jay's voice was almost a scream.

Suddenly, Tim emerged from the bathroom, face drained of color, eyes wide and almost fearful.

"Jay!" he croaked.

Jay almost collapsed with relief, but then hot fury washed over him.

"What the hell, Tim? I'm gone for five minutes and you destroy my entire fucking hotel room!" he shouted.

Tim shook his head. "You scared the crap out of me, Jay. I wake up and you're gone. You left your camera." He gestured to the tripod. "You never leave your camera behind. What was I supposed to think?!"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe that I went down to the kitchen to get some breakfast?!"

"You should have told me before you disappeared like that! It scared the hell out of me, all right?"

Tim's hands hung limp at his sides, and he really did look like he had been genuinely terrified. His face was grey and his eyes were rimmed with red. Almost as if he had been crying.

"All right, fine," Jay sighed. "But once we finish eating, you gotta help me clean this place up. All right?"

Tim just nodded.

The breakfast was good, Jay thought, but it was awkward. He and Tim sat in silence except for chewing and swallowing. Jay couldn't think of anything to say to the other man at all. God, this was awkward. He wished Tim would just say something.

Finally, he did just that.

"I'm sorry I freaked out like that, Jay…" Tim's eyes were cast downwards, as if he were focusing on his eggs like they were the most interesting thing in the world. "It was uncalled for, I guess."

"No, it's fine. Really. I mean, I really should have told you I was leaving. Left a note or something, I guess. So I'm sorry, too."

Tim nodded. He was silence for a few seconds. "It's just, I know we aren't like, chummy or anything by any means, but I feel like you're the only person I can trust in this whole thing, and I would hate for something to happen to you."

"Yeah, same here. We have to stick together."

Tim gave a strained smile. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess we do, huh?"

They finished eating without saying another word.

ÄÄÄ

"I really don't get why you wanna go back to that hospital, Tim. We've been through it already. It's just a creepy run-down old building."

Tim was adamant. "I know, but I keep feeling like we missed something there. Like if we would have stayed longer we might have-"

Jay cut him off. "Gotten ourselves killed by that guy in the hood? Or the Opera….him? Yeah, that sounds like it would be worth going back for!"

"Well, do you have a better plan?" Tim snapped. "Or are you just gonna sit here until somebody finds you?"

Jay just glared at him. As much as he hated to admit it, Tim was making sense.

"Because I can't just sit here, Jay. I need answers. About the hooded guy, about Alex, about me!" Tim's eyes were wild and he slapped a hand over his heart. "Jay, I need to know I'm not a psychopath. I need to know that I'm doing the right thing! I have to go back there."

"Tim, it isn't a good idea. They could be waiting."

"They're ALWAYS waiting, Jay, it's what they do!"

Jay shook his head. "At least wait until tomorrow, Tim. We can go in the morning when the sun comes up. Then we have all day to be there before dark."

Tim hesitated a moment, his face scrunched a little, before he nodded slowly. "Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense, I guess."

Jay nodded, too. "Okay, good. That's settled."

"Until then what do you plan on doing?"

Jay thought for a moment and shrugged. "We could watch TV, I guess."

ÄÄÄ

After a few minutes of channel-surfing, Jay found a station of nature documentaries. Not ideal, but it was better than the rest of the daytime television. Soap operas and whatnot.

Tim sprawled out on the pull-out and Jay on his bed, and the two of them watched as a poor wildebeest got ripped to shreds by a bunch of lions. The big cats were ruthless, relentless once they brought it down. The wildebeest put up a hell of a fight, but the blundering creature was no match for the lions' speed, not to mention their teeth.

Then the alpha lion came along, walking with a sort of swagger. He brushed the lionesses aside and began gorging himself on their quarry. Jay blinked several times.

It sort of reminded him of his current situation. He was the poor wildebeest; innocent, caught up in something he didn't understand, just trying to get away. Defenseless. The lionesses were Alex and the hooded man, possibly. Always chasing him and trying to bring him down. And once they managed to, the head honcho, the Operator himself, would come along to pick up the pieces and claim what was his.

Jay mused over this, feeling even more defenseless and pathetic than usual, before his misery mixed with his exhaustion, and he fell into tormented dreams.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: So here comes the fluffiness. XD I hope you guys like it. And I know readers expect certain...things in these kinds of fanfics. Just how steamy do you want it to get later? After I get the gore going. (it's gonna get really splattery bloody nasty in the chapters ahead, so fair warning.) If you put up with the blood, I might give you some other kinds of...stuff. What do you guys think/want? Give me a shout. THANKS FOR READING, MY DARLINGS. 3**

CHAptEr THreE

Jay's head felt like it was full of rocks. His head was killing him. He was so accustomed to lack of sleep that getting this much of it was pretty much detrimental. He smacked his palm to his forehead and made a mental note not to sleep so much next time, and then opened his eyes again.

It took a moment for the blurriness to subside, and Jay noticed that the television channel had switched from nature documentaries to an infomercial for some sort of hair removal product. Jay couldn't help but chuckle. He glanced over at the messy tangle of blankets that was Tim.

"You should get that," Jay laughed. "Maybe then you could get rid of those awful sideburns."

He knew the idea would never fly. Tim was quite proud of his sideburns, actually. It was a symbol of his manliness. Or at least, that's what he told Jay and Alex back when they were younger. Tim was the first one out of all of them to be able to grow real facial hair, and the others had been pretty jealous at the time.

But Tim didn't respond to Jay's joke. There was no affirming chuckle, no protestations. Just silence. Jay shrugged it off, assuming that Tim, like himself, had fallen asleep. So Jay turned his attention back to the television and watched the infomercial for a few more minutes.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. When he had dozed off, Jay remembered the volume on the television being much quieter. It had been turned up. Not terribly loud, but enough for Jay to notice. He stole a glance over at Tim's sleeping form.

That was when Jay noticed that there came no movement from the blankets. No gentle rise and fall of Tim's chest to confirm he was breathing. Jay shot up and threw the blankets back.

Tim was gone.

So were his shoes and jacket.

Jay's heart sank. He glanced at the clock. It was half past five already. The sun would be setting soon. There was only one place Tim could have gone.

Jay laced up his sneakers and grabbed his camera. Just before he could throw open his hotel room door, a flash of white next to the light switch at his right caught his eye. A piece of notebook paper, folded neatly into a square was taped to the wall. His name was written clearly on the front in black ink.

Jay grabbed the note and unfolded it. As he began to read, his heart pounded into his throat as his worst fears were confirmed.

'Jay, before you read any further, I know you're going to be pretty hot when you finish this. But I'm going to the hospital. I know what you're thinking, but I'm not crazy. I didn't want to wake you up, and really, I'd rather go alone right now. It just feels right. Don't worry, I took my knife and I'm wearing the chest camera. That way if anything interesting happens, at least I'll be able to get you the footage. I'll be back before dark. Don't come after me, okay? I don't want you getting hurt. Tim.'

Jay was shaking. He was furious. How dare Tim run off by himself?! How dare he run off without him?! No matter what Tim said, Jay was growing more and more convinced that his friend was completely, totally, and undeniably insane. There was no other explanation for this irrational behavior.

Jay skimmed through the note again. Don't worry…don't worry?! DON'T WORRY?! What else was he supposed to do? His friend was wandering around an abandoned hospital alone with psychopaths on the loose. Oh, wait. Tim WAS one of the psychopaths. Jay let out a bitter chuckle.

For a moment, he toyed with the idea of calling or texting Tim. But if, god forbid, he was caught in a sticky situation or was trying to hide or something, Jay was sure he wouldn't want his cell phone ringing or vibrating or something.

He stood there seething for a long time before eventually deciding what he was going to do.

Jay grabbed his car keys. He didn't give a damn what Tim said. He was going to go after him.

ÄÄÄ

Tim crept through the hospital, which was almost completely silent, save for the sound of debris crunching under his feet. He cringed every time a bit of wood or piece of plaster crackled as he walked, but at least he knew that anyone else in the building would be making the same noise. It was hard to be stealthy in here.

He pulled out his cell phone to check the time. It was almost six o'clock. Tim made a noise and shoved it back in his pocket. He was going to have to leave soon. It wasn't something he was looking forward to, especially since Jay was going to be furious. Tim's lips trembled into a smile.

Might not be so bad, actually. He had never seen Jay be anything but scared or, on occasion, mildly frustrated. If Jay yelled at him, eyes burning, hands clenched into fists, at least it would mean that he was strong enough to fight. Why did that matter, Tim asked himself.

Because it meant that Jay would be strong enough to fight back.

Suddenly there was a loud popping noise; someone was walking down the hallway. Quick as a cobra, Tim ducked into one of the rooms off to the side. Heart hammering in his chest, breath catching in his throat, he slid down the wall and stole a glance into the hallway beyond.

Nothing.

Tim stood up and glanced out of the door.

And came face to face with a camera lens.

"Jay!" he yelped, and threw a hand to his chest. "What are you doing here?!"

"What do you think I'm doing here?" Jay growled. Yep, he was definitely furious. "Looking for you!"

Tim felt his face grow dark. "I thought I left a note saying for you not to follow me."

"Yeah, well, it's not like you were going to the convenience store or to grab some takeout or something, is it? It isn't safe to go alone."

"It isn't safe at all, Jay, that's the problem."

The two of them glared at one another for a few sullen moments.

"If you wandered off alone and got yourself hurt or killed, Tim, and there was some way I could have stopped it, I would never forgive myself, all right? I'm not going to let you just risk your life for no reason or do anything…"

Tim cut him off. "I would hate myself if something happened to you, too, Jay, but if we sit around all day and do nothing, then we might as well just shoot ourselves in the head! Taking risks is the only way we're going to get out of this."

"What good is taking risks if you just get yourself killed, Tim?"

"What good is it hiding in a hotel, waiting for them to show up and kill you?" Tim retorted. "I'm sick of doing nothing. I've been doing nothing my entire life. I have a chance to figure out what's going on, Jay, and I'm going to figure it out! I'm not a kid anymore, all right?"

"Neither am I, but that doesn't mean anything. Adults can make stupid choices, too."

"The only one who made a stupid choice is you, Jay. You followed me here when I told you to stay at the hotel."

"Yeah? Well, you're the one who chose to come here alone in the first place! It's going to be getting dark soon, you know."

"Then leave if it's going to scare you."

Jay was taken aback, hurt showing in his eyes. Tim immediately regretted saying that, but he didn't take it back. God, why wouldn't he just take it back? Idiot!

"Fine. If you don't want me here, then I will leave."

Jay lowered the camera, still staring at Tim. His eyes were hollow and empty. Tim was shaking now, and not from anger, either.

"Jay, wait," Tim pleaded, stretching out his hand. The tips of his fingers just brushed against one of Jay's sleeves as he turned away. "Please wait, I didn't mean it. I don't want you to leave."

Jay turned to face him again, face white. "Oh, really?" he whispered.

Tim swallowed hard and nodded slowly.

Jay sucked in a breath. "Fine, I'll stay. But only another fifteen minutes, all right? Daylight's fading, and we shouldn't be here in the dark."

"All right."

The two of them spent the next fifteen minutes searching rooms, looking under debris and even checking holes in the walls and ceilings for something, anything, that could be of use. Tim just hoped that he wouldn't have come here for nothing.

Together, he and Jay looked in one last room. It was one they had been in before, but it was still eerie. Written on one wall were the words "He is a Liar." It made Tim uncomfortable. He didn't know if it had been him or the Hooded Man that had written it, but he was more concerned about who the message was directed to. Or directed at, for that matter.

Was Alex the liar? Or maybe Jay?

Or was it himself?

He sighed and looked at Jay. "All right, fifteen minutes is up. We should hit the road."

Jay nodded silently.

They turned away from the message and started walking down the hallway. Neither of them spoke, and the only noise was the steady snapping and popping of debris underfoot.

That is, until Jay started coughing. It was soft at first, but then it got louder. Tim began to cough, too. Violent fits of coughing that made his muscles spasm. He could barely breathe, and by the look of it, Jay was having trouble inhaling, too.

"R-run…" Tim choked between fits of coughing. He reached up and wiped some blood away from his mouth. They had to get out of here. "R-run! Run!"

The two of them ran. Tim stole a glance behind them and felt his blood freeze.

It was the Operator, in all his slender glory, looming in the hallway not ten feet from where they had been standing.

Tim turned his head forward again and ran as fast as his legs would go. Jay was sprinting alongside him, gasping desperately. They were making good time, covering a lot of distance. They were almost out. They were almost out!

Jay almost felt like crying out of relief when they finally made it into the open air. Sure, they probably weren't any more safe out here than they were back in the hospital, but there was something comforting about knowing that at least they weren't trapped in a building with that…thing.

But they kept hurrying along at breakneck speed until they finally reached their vehicles. Jay stopped to catch his breath, setting his camera in the passenger seat. Tim had his hands sprawled out on the hood of his car, back bent

, shoulders hunched, dark hair hanging in his face as he coughed and choked. His sides were heaving harder than Jay's were. Given Tim's health, running that fast for that long couldn't have been good for him.

"You okay?" Jay asked, putting a hand on the man's shoulder.

Tim nodded. His breathing had steadied, but it was still ragged.

"Will you be okay to drive? Should I wait for you?" Jay was still concerned.

"I'll be f-fine," Tim wheezed, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. "G-go ahead. I'll be right behind you."

Jay nodded and got into his car. He started the ignition and shifted into reverse, but he didn't take his foot off the brake until Tim had climbed in and started his own car. Relieved, Jay began driving back towards the hotel.

ÄÄÄ

Upon returning to their hotel room, Jay and Tim both barely had enough energy to shed their jackets and shoes before they collapsed. Jay put the camera on the tripod and sank into the bed, body exhausted. Yet his mind was racing. Had they been close to something? They must have been close to something if the Operator himself had showed up like that.

He turned his head to ask Tim what he thought, but the words caught in Jay's throat.

Tim was curled up on the pull-out, sobbing silently. He was turned away from Jay, probably so he couldn't see him crying. Yet Jay could see his sides shaking with barely repressed sobs.

"Hey, Tim? Are you okay?" he asked, concern etched in his voice.

Tim hiccupped softly and sniffed, wiping his face on his arm, trying to pass it off as covering a yawn, and faced Jay.

"Huh?" he rasped, trying to speak through the lump in his throat. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Jay frowned. "You were crying. Are you okay?"

Tim cleared his throat. "I'll be fine, all right? Just feeling…overwhelmed, I guess."

Slowly, Jay stood up and walked over to the man, sitting on the edge of the pull-out. "Yeah, I know what you mean. And, uh, it's okay. Crying, I mean. You should let it out."

Tim made a noise. "You sound like a woman when you talk like that, you know."

Jay couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, I guess I do."

The two of them were silent for a minute or two. Jay looked down at his knees. His jeans were getting worn out. It wouldn't be long before the knees were gone entirely.

His thoughts were interrupted when he felt Tim's fingers brushing against his. Jay felt his face grow warm when Tim's hand, much bigger than his, completely enveloped his own, giving it a small squeeze.

"You're a good friend, Jay," he said, voice soft.

Yep, Jay thought, his face was definitely on fire. His cheeks were burning and he felt his pulse quicken.

"Thanks," was all he managed to mumble.

What Tim did next was completely unexpected. Jay was uncomfortable enough with his friend holding his hand, but when Tim brought his fingers to his lips and gently brushed them against his mouth, Jay had to fight not to rip his hand away.

"Tim, wh-what are you d-doing?" Jay stammered.

Tim looked at him, lowering his hand. "Thanking you," he murmured.

"You don't have to do that…"

Tim brought Jay's hand up to his mouth again and kissed the palm of it, slowly dragging his lips together. Jay shivered. He didn't know why he was shivering. Tim was his friend. Tim was a guy. But, as much as he hated to admit it, Jay kind of liked the attention.

"Please stop," he whimpered as Tim began to kiss down to his wrist.

The man looked at him and let go of his hand. "Yeah…you're right."

Jay cleared his throat. The two of them were silent, Jay staring at his knees. Finally he looked over at Tim, who was staring blankly at the ceiling.

"It's late," Jay said blandly.

Tim grunted in reply.

"I'm going to go to bed."

Another grunt.

Slowly, without really thinking about it, Jay leaned over and kissed Tim on the forehead.

"Good night," he breathed, before crawling into his own bed.


	4. Chapter 4

CHaPTEr FoUR

Tim's mind was reeling. What had just happened? He could still feel a tingling sensation where Jay's lips had brushed against his forehead. He glanced over at the bed, where Jay was laying on his side, back to him. Jay was breathing deeply, peacefully, and Tim propped himself up on one arm to see him better.

This was weird. This was really, really weird. Why was he watching Jay sleep? More importantly, why in the hell had he kissed Jay's hand? It was like, for a split second, Tim wasn't in control of his own body. But that was impossible. He had taken extra care to take his meds, especially while he was with Jay. But the Masked Man was unpredictable. There was no telling what he would do or when he would surface.

Tim shook his head violently and tried to get back to sleep. But his dreams were plagued by faceless men and wicked-looking trees.

But one dream was worse than the others. In it, he and Jay were walking through the woods. They weren't running or even scared. They were just walking through the woods in the way friends might do on a Saturday afternoon. It was nice, Tim thought, not having to worry about anything. They were just enjoying each other's company.

Suddenly, though, Jay stopped and started coughing. His whole body was racked with spasms, and each cough brought forth fresh splatters of blood. Tim began looking around wildly, trying to find out where the Operator was. Only he could be making Jay cough like this.

But the monster was nowhere to be seen. And Jay kept coughing until finally he fell face first into the dirt and stopped moving altogether, although blood continued gurgling out of his mouth and his nose and even his eyes, leaking out until the ground around his head was black with it.

"Jay! No, no, no, Jay!" Tim cried. "Please, Jay!"

He kept begging like that, but Jay was dead.

Tim woke in a cold sweat, chest heaving. The room was still dark, and the alarm clock read just past five am. Just a dream, he told himself. Just a hellish nightmare.

Still, Tim had to glance over and make sure Jay was still there. When he saw the sleeping figure and heard his friend's steady breathing, Tim let out the breath he hadn't known he was holding in and relaxed into the bed again.

This time he slept until morning.

The next morning, Tim and Jay woke to hear the pound of rain on the window of their hotel room. Jay parted the curtains and watched a bolt of lightning rip the sky in two, followed by a particularly ferocious roar of thunder.

"Looks like a good day to stay inside," Jay remarked.

Tim just gave a grunt in response, still half-asleep. His hair was disheveled and his facial hair was in a desperate need of a trim or something, Jay thought. He couldn't help but grin at the thought.

"Are you hungry?" Jay asked.

"I guess."

"Do you want to go get something to eat?"

"Sure. But I should probably get a shower first."

Jay nodded. "Do you want me to wait for you?"

"If you don't mind. I mean, the last time you left, shit went down."

Jay couldn't help but wince at the memory. "Yeah, that's true. I don't mind waiting."

"Thanks."

Slowly Tim untangled himself from his bedding and stood up. Jay was certain he was standing up deliberately slowly, because Tim was only in his boxers, and as the sheets fell away, Jay saw every ripple of muscle and flex of skin. He could feel the blood rushing to his cheeks as he blushed.

But Tim's face was unreadable. He lifted his arms above his head and stretched, his smooth chest flexing ever so slightly. Without a word, he started to walk towards the bathroom, and when he passed Jay, one of his hands gently brushed against Jay's, and there was an awkward moment while they both hissed softly in recognition of the contact.

About twenty minutes later, the two of them ventured down to see what was left from the breakfast. It had been pretty well picked-through, but they managed to scrape together a decent meal before heading back to the room.

Tim was strangely quiet that morning. He was flipping through a newspaper he had picked up in the lobby, but no word passed his lips. Jay was worried. Something was obviously bothering him.

Several times he opened his mouth to ask what was up, but then thought better of it. Tim wasn't one to go about discussing his feelings. And Jay wasn't sure that, even if Tim did, that he would be able to help or anything. They were both messed up, both in the same boat, after all.

"So what next?" Tim's voice was slightly muffled from behind the newspaper.

"Huh?" Jay almost yelped, startled by Tim's sudden words.

"What are we gonna do next?" Tim asked, setting down the newspaper and fixing his attention on Jay. "Because if you think I'm just going to sit on my ass all day, you're sadly mistaken."

"I'm not all that sure what we can do with it storming like that outside," Jay replied. Had Tim forgotten about the thunderstorm?

The man shrugged. "I'm bored, is all," he mumbled. "We don't have any leads or anything?"

Jay shook his head and Tim gave an exaggerated groan.

"Look, Tim, I don't know what you want to do, but I am not going out there while there's a chance I could get my brains fried by lightning."

"Yeah." There was a tone of finality in Tim's voice that made Jay both relieved the discussion was over and uncomfortable that his friend didn't argue.

There were a few moments of awkward silence and then Tim sighed.

"You know, Jay, this is all a load of bullshit, you know that?"

Jay glanced, half-amused, half-shocked, at Tim, who was sprawled out on the pull-out, staring blankly at the ceiling.

"Took you that long to figure it out, huh?" Jay teased.

"What happens when we get out of this, if we even do get out of this? We're never going to be normal. We'll never get married or get decent jobs or anything like that. We're damaged goods."

Jay shrugged. "Damaged goods, yes, but I doubt that'll stop us. We're fighters, remember?"

"Runners, more like. We've both been running."

"Tim, you said yourself that you wanted to fight. That you were tired of running and hiding."

There was a moment of silence before Tim spoke, his words slow, as if he were very carefully selecting his words.

"Jay, have you ever thought about what might happen if we…don't make it out of this?"

The silence grew tangible and cold and Jay hung his head.

"Every day," he murmured.

"I mean, we're running out of places to hide. All of our leads have turned up dead ends. We don't have anywhere else to turn."

Suddenly, Jay looked up.

"Not all of them."

Tim was clearly confused. "What?"

"Not all of our leads are dead ends, Tim. There's one we haven't checked out."

Tim frowned, his brow furrowing. "There is?"

Jay nodded slowly. In his heart, he had not wanted to go and investigate this particular occurrence, but now it seemed he had no choice. He took in a shaky breath.

"Yeah. The tunnel."

Jay wasted no time in bringing up the footage. He didn't even bother searching online for it. Instead he brought up the unabridged footage he had on his laptop. He grimaced as he clicked on the file and it started to play.

He glanced up at Tim, who was looking particularly grim-faced as he leaned over his friend's shoulder, staring intently at the screen.

They watched the footage in its entirety, from the moment Alex sat down at the tunnel to when he suddenly attacked that man. Jay couldn't watch. He looked down and shielded his eyes, but there was no escaping the horrid sounds coming from the speakers.

Tim forced himself to watch. He needed to see, he needed to know. Still, he flinched and gagged when Alex threw a rock down on the man's head four different times. The sound was horrible. At first it was a sharp crack, and the man gave a weak groan. But each time after that it was a wet thud, followed by a soft splattering and dripping as the blood and god knows what else came oozing from his pummeled skull.

When the footage was finally over, the two of them exchanged dark looks. It was horrible. Tim rocked back and forth on his heels and Jay's face was whiter than he had ever seen it.

"Up until I saw this," Jay croaked, "I thought maybe we could save him. I thought we could help him. But now…I don't think we can. He isn't Alex anymore. He's…he's…"

"A monster," Tim finished for him. Jay just nodded.

They stood in grim silence for at least three or four minutes before Jay made a soft snuffling noise. He was trying desperately to keep his composure, but was failing miserably.

"It's okay to cry, you know," Tim said softly.

Jay shook his head. "I'm a fighter," he rasped.


	5. Chapter 5

**Here comes the tunnel! :D Muahaha. Entries 64, 65, and 66 have to be some of my favorites. Don't ask why. *most certainly does NOT like to see Tim a mushy, quivering ball of feels, no sir!* :| Please enjoy! And thanks to everyone who has given me reviews. It really helps. :)**

ChaPtER FivE

By about four o'clock, the rain had let up enough that Jay and Tim decided it would be safe to go out and investigate the tunnel. It was a few miles away, so they decided to drive. Seeing as Jay's car was filled with supplies from living on the run, they also decided to drive separately. Like they usually did. Jay checked out of the hotel room, returned his key, and they left.  
Tim followed Jay, seeing as he had no idea where he was going, but after a while they made it to their destination and took off on foot through the woods. Jay carried his camera, and Tim strapped on the chest-mounted camera. They were ready. Or at least, maybe they were. They had no idea what to expect.  
As they walked, Tim couldn't help but be reminded of his nightmare. He kept close to Jay, not letting him leave his sight. He'd be damned before he let anything happen to his friend.  
Jay could tell that Tim seemed particularly protective of him today. But he couldn't tell if he was touched or irritated by the thought. After all, he was a grown man who could look after himself, but at the same time, he obviously needed as much help as he could get, and Tim, who despite being an asshole sometimes, was fiercely loyal.  
For half a moment, his mind strayed back to the previous night. Had he really kissed his friend on the forehead? He felt his cheeks go red and shook his head. Obviously neither or them was in the right frame of mind last night. It hadn't meant anything…right?  
Jay decided to just let it be and kept walking, careful to listen for any strange noises. His eyes flicked left and right amongst the trees. Any sign of Alex or the Operator and he was ready. Jay had stashed the knife away in his back pocket. He wasn't going to let anything hurt either he or Tim. Not today, at least.  
"You ready for this?" Tim's voice broke the silence, and even though he always tried to be tough, Jay could hear the anxiety in his voice.  
"No," he answered, "but we gotta do it."  
Tim nodded, a dark look on his face, but he was silent. Together, he and Jay made their way through the brush and tangled branches and eventually the tunnel came into view. Jay swallowed hard, and despite himself, his hands shook enough to screw up the camera.  
He felt one of Tim's hands brush against his side, but Jay couldn't tell if it was intentional or not. Either way, his skin gathered into goose bumps that weren't entirely unpleasant, and his fear didn't feel quite as sharp.  
Jay looked up. Tim's face was waxy and grey, and his mouth was twitching in the way it only did when he was lost in thought. Slowly, almost as if his body was doing it on its own, Jay reached over to take Tim's hand, but his friend moved suddenly, taking a step forward. Jay was torn between being relieved and disappointed.  
No, he needed to focus. Focus on what lay ahead.  
Tim, walking towards the tunnel, the sunlight glinting on the nervous sweat gathering on the back of his neck. His dark hair shifting ever so slightly in the gentle breeze. The way his shirt rippled across his muscular frame.  
Jay's face was hot, and it wasn't from the Alabama heat.  
But such thoughts were purged from his brains just as soon as they came to the mouth of the tunnel. He stood at Tim's side, panning the camera so that he could capture it all on film.  
"This is the place, huh?" Tim's voice was weak.  
"Y-Yeah…"  
They were silent, taking a few steps into the tunnel. It was cooler out of the sun, but there was a strange silence. Other than the echo of their footsteps, the sounds of the world outside seemed to be swallowed up. A damp smell permeated the air, the musty smell of wet concrete.  
"Well…let's take a look around, I guess." Tim's voice sounded distorted as it echoed around the tunnel.  
Jay was about to agree when his cell phone started to ring in his pocket. He groaned, fumbling around in his pockets to find it. His fingers brushed up against the knife at least twice, a slight reassurance, even if it was unfounded. Eventually he pulled out his cellular and flipped it open.  
"Hello?"  
There was a soft hiss of static before a voice, slightly garbled due to the crappy reception, came over.  
"Leave. Now."  
Jay froze. He recognized that voice.  
"Alex?"  
There was a click and then silence.  
"Tim…that was Alex."  
Tim looked up from the ominous dark patch he was examining.  
"What?"  
"On the phone just now. That was Alex."  
"What? Is he close by?" Tim's hands clenched into fists as he stood up. It was common knowledge that Tim lusted for revenge for when Alex had smashed his leg.  
"He must be. He said to leave."  
Tim's face went even more white. "Jay, that's not good."  
"Tim, we can't just leave. If he's telling us to leave, that means we're onto something. We've got to keep going."  
"Either that or he's trying to lead us into a trap. Reverse psychology or whatever they call it."  
"Tim, we can't turn around and run. Press forward. Fight, remember?"  
"Jay, I'm not stumbling blindly into a trap. Not if I can help it."  
Jay felt a heat rise up in him. Anger. He was angry. How could Tim be such a coward? Better to die because they were onto something rather than die because they were running away, right? If he was going to die, Jay at least wanted there to be some sort of meaning to it.  
"You can't keep running forever, Tim."  
"No, but I can run away now so I can fight another die."  
"Why not fight now?!"  
"It doesn't…it doesn't feel right, Jay. Something tells me we gotta get out of here."  
Tim was being serious, but damn it, Jay had come this far. He wasn't turning away empty-handed.  
"Right. Because you don't feel funny any other time."  
"That's not what I mean, and you know it."  
"No, I don't, Tim."  
"The way I see it, Alex followed us. And he's probably watching us right now. We should leave." Tim was getting flustered. Why wouldn't Jay listen to reason?  
"But he could just be trying to get us out of here. Tim, if he wants us to leave so bad, maybe there's something up ahead. Something he doesn't want us to find!" Jay's eyes were agleam. Tim knew that look. His friend was determined, even if he was toying with their lives.  
"Jay, I just…I don't feel good about this, all right?"  
"Tim, you said you didn't want to run forever. You wanted to fight. Now's your chance! Let's go! Let's find what Alex is trying to hide from us!"  
"Jay, I can't…" Tim broke off with a sharp cough, one that instantly brought tears to his eyes. He looked up at Jay, wide-eyed and fearful. "Shit…"  
Tim couldn't stop. The coughs came harder, faster, and worse than he had ever remembered. They threatened to break his whole body apart, shatter him into a thousand bloody pieces. Eventually he couldn't even stand. One moment he was stumbling about, a mess of quivering flesh, and then the next, he was laying on the cold concrete, hacking and dying. Because he swore to God this was what dying felt like.  
From somewhere in the roaring noise that was filling his ears, Tim could barely make out Jay screaming his name. He knew what was happening. He was going to be taken, and there was nothing he could do about it. But at least he could save Jay, or buy him some time to run away.  
"Tim, get up! Get up! We have to get out of here!" Jay was screaming desperately, his gaze alternating between his suffocating friend and the Operator, who was slowing advancing on their position. "Tim, get up! It's coming!"  
He grabbed at Tim's arm, yanking on it so hard he was shocked the shoulder didn't pop out of socket. But Tim couldn't move. The gagging, choking noises got stronger. The Operator was nearly on top of them, and Jay could feel his muscles start to go weak.  
"Run!" Tim managed to choke out the word. "Jay, run!"  
Their eyes locked for a moment, and for a split second, Jay saw something stir in Tim's eyes. Something small and feeble, but then it was gone, and so was Tim's hand. Jay's body had taken over, and he was sprinting away, leaving Tim choking and dying in the tunnel, the slender figure standing over him like a hunter over his prize.


	6. Chapter 6

**WARNING: The following chapter gets quite graphic. Please be sure to keep this in mind as you read. Also, please don't hate me for what goes down in this chapter. I shall reward you if you stick around ;3**

ChAptEr sIx

Jay ran. He ran without stopping until he reached his car. He glanced over at Tim's car. Empty, of course. For a few moments, Jay had half-hoped that something impossible would happen and Tim would be sitting in the driver's seat, waiting. But of course, that didn't' happen.  
He climbed into his car, mind and body numb, and turned the key in the ignition. The engine roared to life, and Jay immediately fastened his seat belt and began to drive.  
Get out of here, his mind told him. Get the fuck out of here.  
But something inside of him was screaming at him to go back, to try and save Tim. After all, hadn't he just belittled his friend for wanting to run?  
Jay wanted to slam his head into the steering wheel until he bashed his brains everywhere.  
"I'm such a hypocrite," Jay moaned to himself. "A fucking coward."  
He drove to the hotel, but stayed in the parking lot. He had no desire to go in there only to spend the night alone. Jay was terrified.  
But more than that…he was alone.  
And that was the scariest part of all. Jay had lost the one person he could trust. Tim was gone, and Jay was alone. Probably forever this time.  
Jay leaned back in the seat of his car and let darkness take him.

Pain. Coughing. Choking. Choking on what? He couldn't tell.  
Who was he?  
Where was he?  
What was happening?  
Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain.  
Blood and pain.  
He choked on the life remaining in his lungs.  
Blood gushed from his trembling lips and he was gone.

When Jay opened his eyes, he was nearly blinded by the blood-red light filtering into the car. The sunset was brilliant. He may have even enjoyed it, except Jay's thoughts were numb. Tim was gone. Tim was gone forever.  
"I'm a fucking coward!" Jay wailed.  
He began to sob. Sobs that racked his body more violently even than when Tim had been coughing earlier. Sobs that threatened to shatter him into a million bloodied pieces. Jay reached up and threaded his fingers through his hair, his knuckles turning white as he squeezed so hard it felt like he was going to rip off his scalp.  
After what seemed like hours, Jay lifted his head and gazed outside the car. The shadows were growing longer, distorted upon the ground. They reminded him of hands desperately reaching out for him.  
Jay gazed at his own hand, eyes lingering on the spaces between his fingers. Tim's fingers had fit there so perfectly.  
That was it, damn it. He wasn't going to sit there and do nothing. He had run like a coward, but now he was going to fight.  
Jay set his jaw and started up his car again. As the engine roared to life, Jay felt something roar inside of him. If nothing else, Jay was going to get revenge for his friend. Even if it killed him.  
The drive and walk to the tunnel was a blur. Jay didn't pay attention to anything, really. He stared straight ahead, camera held high, bound and determined to find Tim. Because Tim was alive, damn it, and Jay was going to save him.  
Because, at much as he hated to admit it, Jay needed Tim. They needed each other. He would go insane if he had to go back to staying alone again.  
The soggy sound of wet leaves under Jay's sneakers turned into that of footsteps on concrete, and Jay's heavy breathing echoed around the tunnel. It was funny, but the air seemed lighter this time. It was easier to breathe. And yet, there was a funny smell in the air, like wet metal. But it looked like the sides of the tunnel were wet, so Jay just chalked the smell up to that.  
He kept walking, the camera shaking in his hand. Just before he walked out of the tunnel, Jay paused. The air was getting thick now, heavy with the same wet metal smell from inside the tunnel. It was almost unbearable, coating the back of his throat and filling his lungs.  
Coughing a bit into the crook of his arm, Jay continued on, until he exited the tunnel and came into a portion of the woods that seemed thicker and wilder than those before the tunnel.  
The sunlight barely penetrated the heavy foliage, making the forest look as if it was shrouded in twilight. It was cooler as well, and even more damp. Jay kept walking, his sneakers now soaked from the wet leaves.  
The wet metal smell was even more prominent here, Jay thought, which was strange. The tunnel was at least twenty feet behind him by now, and there didn't seem to be any other sources of metal around him. Not to mention there was a slight breeze shifting through the forest, which logically should be blowing the smell away.  
But Jay pushed on. Thoughts of Tim filled his mind. Tim being held prisoner by Alex or the Operator or even the Hooded Man. Tim being dead, tortured, or worse. The gruesome images were enough to make Jay feel sick to his stomach, but that made him keep going, penetrating deeper into the heart of the woods.  
Eventually the trees seemed to be thinning, and Jay could see a clearing up ahead. He picked up speed, almost jogging through the heavy underbrush, pushing aside thorny bushes and low branches.  
Suddenly, though, his hand touched something that was certainly not a branch.  
It felt like a plastic bag.  
Jay froze, turning around. Sure enough, his fingers had brushed against a sack that looked like a black garbage bag. It looked almost as if someone had tied the bag up in the branches. Confused, Jay reached out and touched the bag again. Whatever was inside felt like it was cold and slimy. Jay frowned and turned back towards the clearing.  
As soon as he stepped out of the trees and into the open space, Jay was hit with the wave of a new smell. A stomach-churning, sickening smell of death. Fresh death and blood and god knows what else. He felt like he was going to be sick.  
He looked around the clearing. It was almost perfectly circular, except at the end opposite where he was standing, one enormous tree was growing at an awkward angle, the trunk slowly curving into the clearing as it went up.  
Jay realized something else, though. The trees surrounding the clearing all had something in common. The black bags were tied in the branches, some appearing to be fuller than others, but there they were, dangling ominously from the skeletal branches.  
But one of the bags looked like it had a hole in the bottom or something, because some kind of viscous liquid was slowly oozing out of the bottom.  
Despite himself, curiosity got the best of him, and Jay walked towards the bag. He wasn't sure he wanted to know what was leaking out of the bag, but he had come this far.  
When he saw what it was, Jay felt his stomach drop.  
Blood.  
Thick, sticky, old, coagulating blood.  
He took several steps back, heart pounding. He was going to be sick. Oh, god, he was going to be sick. But then one thought burst into the front of his mind.  
What if that was Tim's blood?  
Jay whirled around, looking at all of the bags. There were so many. So many. He was surrounded by them.  
He kept walking until he leaned against the great tree, shocked and exhausted and drained and hopeless. Completely hopeless. Tim was gone. Chopped up into little pieces and stuffed into black garbage bags.  
Then Jay heard something. A flutter of cloth in the trees above him. And he scrambled backwards, looking up into the tree above him.  
At the sight of Tim, Jay vomited everywhere, splattering whatever it was he had eaten that morning up the tree trunk.  
Tim, or what was left of Tim, at least, was impaled up in the higher branches, ribbons of bloody flesh that still clung to splintered bones, all held together by the shredded scraps of cloth that were all that remained of his shirt and blue jeans. His face was hidden behind that fucking mask, but the white porcelain was splattered with blood and god knows what else. Some other thick black liquid.  
Tim's lower jaw hung by a flap of meat, dangling beneath the mask. Several of the teeth were missing or broken, half-dried blood spattered all over them. Crusty blood matted his prized sideburns to his cheeks, blood and brain matter leaked from his ears.  
One large branch was jutting through Tim's chest, and bits of his ribs poked through his flesh from where they had broken. Several other smaller branches prodded through other areas of his flesh, the branches themselves covered in human skin and bits of meat. Tim's mutilated remains seemed translucent, a feeble glow emanating from where the faint light passed through the flesh.  
But Jay's eyes traveled down the bloodied branches and past the gore-spattered shreds of clothes and even past the ribbons of skin. Because Tim's abdomen was exposed, no branches jabbing through, but there was an angry looking slash across it. But beyond the skin, stretched red and purple, and the stringy remains of Tim's abdominal muscles, there was nothing. No stomach, no intestines, no pulsing, warm organs. Just a cold, empty cavity.  
Jay then realized what exactly was in the black bags, and he vomited again, the sour smell of sick mingling with that of Tim's shredded flesh and thickening blood.  
"Fuck," Jay gagged. He couldn't stand. He couldn't move. He couldn't look away. He was frozen, staring up at the mutilated remains of his friend, and his legs wouldn't move. "Fuck…"  
When he finally wrenched his eyes away, Jay saw something that make him shake even harder, if that was even possible.  
Hanging from one of the lower branches of the tree was the chest-mounted camera.  
For a few moments, Jay had hoped that maybe this was a sick joke. That maybe it hadn't been Tim up in the tree. Maybe someone else had been killed and put up there to make it look like Tim was dead. But no. That was the chest-mounted camera Tim had been wearing. Jay whimpered.  
He stood up on weak legs and walked over to where the camera was hanging, reaching out and grabbing it. He pulled it off of the branch and held it to his chest.  
For a few moments, Jay stood there sobbing. Just sobbing. Because now he knew he was alone. Tim was gone, and he wasn't coming back.  
From somewhere off in the woods, Jay heard a twig snap, and instantly his muscles tensed. He couldn't stay there. It was dangerous. Something about this part of the woods just wasn't right.  
Jay turned and started sprinting as fast as his weak legs would go. He pushed aside one of the black bags on his way out, fingers lingering on the plastic. A wave of sorrow passed over him. A piece of Tim was in that bag. It could be anything. His liver, a lung, or even his heart.  
Before he started crying again, Jay turned back in the direction of the tunnel and ran, and he didn't stop until he got to his car

**GYAUGH! It killed me to write this chapter! D'X But the bloody graphic part is done...and if you don't hate me yet, please leave a review. Let me know how I'm doing. It means a lot. OwO *cutesy eyes***


	7. Chapter 7

CHApteR SevEN

When Jay got back to his hotel room, he collapsed onto his bed, a shaking, quivering mess of emotions. And yet, he felt so numb. Although he knew it wasn't true, Jay kept trying to convince himself that this was all some horrible nightmare, and that he would wake up at any minute.  
And then Tim would be back, spread out on the pull-out, asleep. And Jay could watch his chest slowly rise and fall as he breathed. The sound would lull him to sleep.  
Just imagining the sound made Jay drowsy. He curled into the fetal position, hugging himself, and drifted into a deep, dark, and dreamless sleep.

When Jay woke up, it was nearly one o'clock in the morning. He unfurled himself from the tangle of his own limbs and sat upright, rubbing his eyes. His whole body ached and his tongue was glued to the roof of his mouth.  
After cautiously sipping a glass of water (he still felt sick to his stomach at the thought of Tim's shredded body tangled in the tree), Jay's eyes wandered over to the chest-mounted camera. It had fallen off of the bed and onto the floor.  
Maybe it had captured Tim's final moments on film.  
Jay stood frozen, chewing at his lip. He wasn't sure he wanted to see how Tim had died. It was bound to be gruesome, after all. And yet, Tim had obviously went through all of it. Jay felt it was his duty to find out exactly what had happened to his friend, even if only to keep it from happening to himself.  
After all, Jay had decided that if he had died, he wouldn't want Tim to give up. He would want someone to keep fighting. So he was going to fight. He was going to fight for himself, for Tim, and for anyone else unfortunate enough to get tangled up or even killed in this damn mess.  
So Jay plugged the camera into his computer and booted up the footage. It was grainy, and the sound somewhat garbled, but he immediately recognized it as when he and Tim had began their trek towards the tunnel.  
"You ready for this?"  
Jay's breath hitched in his throat, and goose bumps crawled up his arms. He hadn't expected to hear Tim's voice again, and even distorted over the cheap camera, it still sent shivers down his spine.  
Tim was still alive, in a strange sense, living on in this footage.  
Jay took several deep breaths. The best part about watching this on his computer was that, if something went wrong, he could always pause the video, or rewind it, and tell himself that it was just a movie. That he and Tim were just acting.  
But, jaw set, Jay kept watching, aware of the fact that everything he was about to see was very much real.  
Tim's camera caught everything, from the moment they entered to the tunnel, to when Alex had called, and even their argument. Jay regretted everything he had said to Tim. There were so many things he wanted to take back. So many things he wanted to change about their last few minutes together.  
But nothing, nothing at all, could prepare him for what came onto the screen next.  
When the Operator attacked, and Tim was screaming at Jay to run, the footage was so corrupted that it stretched and wrinkled and warped across the screen. Jay was astounded that, even in such close proximity to the Operator, the chest-mounted camera even worked let alone captured footage.  
Eventually, though, the video cut. Jay was shaking, palms sweating, heart pounding in his throat. This must have been when Tim was taken. For the next thirty seconds or so, the only thing onscreen were a few sputters of static and a low humming sound.  
But then the video came back, and it was clear Tim was laying on his back in the middle of the woods somewhere, choking and gagging. The audio was distorted, the humming noise and occasional bursts of static lingering in the background. Tim rolled over onto all fours, still hacking.  
One particularly nasty, wet-sounding cough even produced enough blood to spatter a nearby log with glistening red liquid.  
Jay felt like he wanted to be sick and cry and smash his computer with his bare hands all at the same time. But he gritted his teeth and kept watching.  
The video was a blurred montage of confusing chaos. One moment Tim would be running through the woods, then there would be a burst of static and he would be flailing about underwater. Several times, Jay heard his friend calling out his name, crying for help. And Jay couldn't help but reach out and touch the screen.  
"I'm here, I'm here," he whispered to the monitor, wishing desperately that he could go back and help. Wishing that he had heard the desperate cries.  
At some point, Tim had somehow found himself in the abandoned hospital. He was curled up in a corner, whimpering and coughing. He fumbled around for a moment or two before producing the bottle of pills. Tim unscrewed the cap with trembling fingers, only to find that it was empty. He made a miserable noise before chucking the empty bottle at the wall.  
There was another burst of static and Tim was in the woods again, running.  
"Jay! Jay, please! Where are you?! Help me! Someone help me!"  
Tim fell to his knees, choking and gagging. The footage on the chest cam warped and stretched. Jay saw the Operator approaching from Tim's left, his impossibly long arms dragging on the forest floor. Tim screamed. It was a sound that no human should ever make. It was a scream of fear. Fear of the rawest, most primal kind.  
The video cut out, replaced with static and just darkness. But the sound continued. It was a jumble of screams and groans. Ripping noises and horrible wet, stretching sounds. And then silence. Jay sat, eyes wide, staring at the computer as if hypnotized. There was still a few minutes left on the tape.  
A few moments later, there was the sound of footsteps shuffling through the dead leaves. The chest cam was jostled for a second before it was turned around. Hoody was holding it, the childish red frown on his face looking as creepy as ever. He held the camera like that for nearly thirty seconds before hanging it in the tree and walking off. Before he disappeared into the woods, however, Hoody turned around, as if looking at Tim hanging in the tree. Then he bowed his head, almost mournfully, and disappeared into the foliage. The tape ran for several more minutes.  
Jay watched until it was over, cutting to a black screen.  
And then he slammed his head down onto the keyboard and sobbed.

When Jay opened his eyes, it was almost nine o'clock. He lifted his head, which felt as if it had been filled with bricks, and rubbed his cheek where it had been stuck to the keys. Jay could feel the imprints of the keyboard on his skin.  
His eyes strayed to the chest cam and he chewed his lower lip. He still felt sick from watching that footage. He wanted to know why. Why had he and Tim been targeted? And why was Tim gone? It wasn't fair. It shouldn't have happened. Jay punched the keyboard, a few of the keys making angry snapping sounds under his hand.  
With that, Jay stood up forcefully, jaw clenched, fists curled into balls of pure anger. This was bullshit. Was he really going to just sit here, mope around, and do nothing? No. Tim had died trying to do something, and it would be an insult to his memory if Jay just sat around on his ass feeling pathetic.  
Jay stood up and yanked on his jacket. He grabbed the knife and shoved it into his pocket, the weight of the metal giving him a strange feeling of security. Jay didn't know exactly what he was doing, but he didn't care. He didn't care about anything anymore. He was going to go back to the woods, and he was going to kill whoever was in there. They took his only friend, so he would take from them anything he could before they finally killed him as well.  
With that thought, Jay strapped on the chest cam so his hands were free, and then he left the hotel room. He took in a deep breath as he climbed into his car and stuck the key into the ignition. There was a moment of deafening silence before the engine came roaring to life.  
Jay fastened his seatbelt and nearly stomped on the gas pedal in his urgency. It took him only ten minutes to drive to the park, and then another ten to walk to the tunnel. Jay stood at the end, breathing heavily, staring at the woods on the other side. The trees looked so innocent, as if their shadows harbored no secrets. But Jay knew better.  
For a moment his mind strayed back in time to when he had been trekking through Rosswood with Alex. Back when things seemed simpler. At least, simpler than now. But Alex had told him a story. A story about how criminals had been tied to the trees in the woods so their bodies would be stretched out. Most of them died of exposure before this happened, though, and when they did, the entire tree would be burned down, body and all. The executions were stopped, however, when the dismembered body of a child was found strung up in the branches. Jay shivered at the thought.  
At the time, he had thought Alex was just trying to scare him. But looking back, Jay could believe the story. Bodies being stretched to inhuman lengths and dimensions. Some kind of evil entity coming back to seek revenge on those who brought upon him such a ruthless, pitiless death.  
Jay sucked in a hollow, rattling breath, and then began to walk through the tunnel. The reek of blood and decay was stronger now. After all, the sun was beating down relentlessly, baking whatever blood was on the concrete until it unleashed a furious smell that made Jay gag.  
For a moment, he hesitated. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. Maybe he should turn around and leave now while he still could.  
No, he wasn't going to do that. He wasn't going to be a coward again. Jay had done nothing but run since this whole ordeal started, and now he was going to fight.

**Hello again, audience! Hoping you all had a great weekend. I know I did. :3 Lemme know if you're enjoying this so far. And if you hate me at the present time, I understand. But I hope you guys don't hate me for long because *spoiler* Tim may or may not be dead *spoiler* JUST HANG IN THERE, OKAY?! IT'S NOT OVER YET! **


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